Tis The Baking Season...

 Tis the season...

To bake!

The fact that cooler temperatures outside means we can fire up the oven is just another reason to love this time of year. It's already my favorite season. My wife said to me the other day that she wanted to do more baking. Cooking or baking in the summer months heats up the house too much.

There's also a difference between this year and last. Last year, our oven was broken. We lived for a year without the ability to bake anything. The burners on top of the range worked, but not the oven. That was a long year...culinarily speaking.

It's also the season for sweet things to eat. This is both good and bad. Good because of the deliciousness, but bad because eating too much sugar can't be the best thing for a person, especially a person of advancing age. I need to practice moderation in my sugar intake.

These cookies taste better than they look, and they do look good.

I only wish you could have some, too. After all, it is the (baking...) season.

Prepping For Winter...Box Elder County-Style

 When we put in our sprinkler system last spring, we were told we needed to make sure we cleared the lines with water before things froze. The only problem was...

We'd never done that before.

Thanks to a kind (and wise...) neighbor, we were able to prep our pipes for winter. First, we needed an air compressor. We chose the pumpkin spice model. Next, we had to figure out how to use it. This meant, I had to open the valves to push air through the lines instead of water.

It took a few practice runs, but eventually we got as much water out of the lines as we could. It was a satisfying gurgle. 

This move has been a real eye-opener. This is just another thing for us to learn as home owners in Box Elder County.